Current developments: the 2008 judicial activity of the International Court of Justice.

The International Court of Justice issued three judgments in 2008: a final decision on the merits, of May 23, in Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge (Malaysia/Singapore); (1) a final decision on the merits, of June 4, in Certain Questions of Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters (Djibouti v. France); (2) and a ruling, of November 18, on the respondent's preliminary objections to jurisdiction and admissibility in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Croatia v. Serbia). (3) In addition, the Court, on July 16, indicated provisional measures directed at the United States in Request for an Interpretation of the Judgment of31 March 2004 in the Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America) (Mexico v. United States); (4) and on October 15, acting on a request by Georgia for the indication of provisional measures in Application of the Racial Discrimination Convention (Georgia v. Russian Federation), (5) indicated provisional measures directed at both parties in the case. The Court also issued, on October 17, its order organizing the written proceedings in Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo (request for advisory opinion). (6)

The year 2008 was the last full one of Judge Rosalyn Higgins's presidency of the Court (she will step down as president on February 6, 2009), and like the two previous years, it was a year in which the Court was highly productive and remained successful in providing timely judgments to states that invoked its processes. The fact that seven new cases were brought to the Court in 2008--the most since 1999, when the Legality of Use of Force cases were brought as a group--suggests that states may be responsive to this commitment to timely resolution. It may also suggest that the Court's handling of difficult substantive legal issues enfolded in sensitive political conflicts during this three-year period has enhanced the reputation of the Court among states. In many of the significant cases that it decided during this period, the Court acted with large majorities, which sometimes masked differing views that became clear only through the separate opinions; in this context the Court showed enormous legal creativity in arriving at its results.

I. THE COURT'S JUDICIAL ACTIVITY

Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge (Malaysia/ Singapore)

In May, in Sovereignty over Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh, Middle Rocks, and South Ledge, the Court determined the sovereignty over an island and two maritime features loc...

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